UT Austinhttp://kut.org
enOn College Admissions Essays, Even the Smallest Words Matter http://kut.org/post/college-admissions-essays-even-smallest-words-matter
<p>Small words like ‘the’ and ‘a’ may say more than you think.<a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/1392413-small-words-research.html" target="_blank"> New research from UT Austin</a> finds they can tell us a lot – even predicting a student’s grades in college.</p><p>Researchers analyzed more than 50,000 college admissions essays, and they found that students who used words such as 'the’ and ‘a’ in their essays tended to have higher grade point averages. Students who used more personal pronouns, such as ‘I’ and ‘they,’ tended to have lower GPAs.</p><p>Researchers say these smaller words can show what people are thinking about and how they frame that thinking.</p><p>Thu, 08 Jan 2015 21:56:50 +0000Kate McGee11895 at http://kut.orgOn College Admissions Essays, Even the Smallest Words Matter Players Closes Its Doorshttp://kut.org/post/players-closes-its-doors
<p><span style="font-size: 13.63636302948px; line-height: 1.5;">A longtime fixture of the UT campus area closes its doors today. Players restaurant has served generations of UT students, state employees and others from its location at&nbsp;</span>MLK<span style="font-size: 13.63636302948px; line-height: 1.5;"> and </span>Guadalupe<span style="font-size: 13.63636302948px; line-height: 1.5;">.&nbsp;</span></p>Mon, 24 Nov 2014 23:06:55 +0000Mose Buchele11694 at http://kut.orgPlayers Closes Its DoorsUT Law Receives $1 Million Gift for Pro Bono Program http://kut.org/post/ut-law-receives-1-million-gift-pro-bono-program
<p>The UT Law School has received a $1 million gift to support its<a href="http://www.utexas.edu/law/centers/publicinterest/probono/">&nbsp;Pro Bono program,</a> which provides students with first hand experience while also helping people who can’t afford a lawyer.</p><p>The money was donated by Richard and Ginni Mithoff&nbsp;of Houston. The program will now be named after them.</p><p><span style="line-height: 1.5;">“Every student who comes to the University of Texas is helped in being here by the taxpayer," says Ward Farnsworth, Dean of the Law School. "We’re a public law school and we think that creates obligations. So when a student comes out of UT they’re not going out to lead a great career, but they’re also dedicated to finding ways they can give back.”&nbsp;</span></p><p><iframe frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/172615589&amp;color=ff5500&amp;auto_play=false&amp;hide_related=false&amp;show_comments=true&amp;show_user=true&amp;show_reposts=false" width="100%"></iframe></p><p><span style="line-height: 1.5;">Farnsworth says the school encourages each student to sign a pledge to provide 50 hours of free legal work during their time in law school. Wed, 15 Oct 2014 05:01:00 +0000Kate McGee11424 at http://kut.orgUT Law Receives $1 Million Gift for Pro Bono Program UT Says Sexual Assault Reports On the Rise in 2014http://kut.org/post/ut-says-sexual-assault-reports-rise-2014
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5;">In 2013, the number of sexual assaults reported on or near UT Austin’s campus increased only slightly—three more cases were reported than the year before. That’s according to preliminary numbers from UT’s Annual Security Report, which was released this week.&nbsp;</span></p><p>It's important to note that the numbers aren't likely to be an accurate representation of the number of actual assaults, since sexual assault is an historically underreported crime.</p><p>Last year's increase in sexual assault reports might not seem like a big one, but sources say next year’s report will be different.</p><p>UT couldn’t provide numbers for 2014, so far. But anecdotally, they say the university has seen an uptick in reports since January.&nbsp;</p><p><iframe frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/170477736&amp;color=ff5500&amp;auto_play=false&amp;hide_related=false&amp;show_comments=true&amp;show_user=true&amp;show_reposts=false" width="100%"></iframe></p><p>Fri, 03 Oct 2014 15:47:44 +0000Kate McGee11345 at http://kut.orgUT Says Sexual Assault Reports On the Rise in 2014UT Austin Continues to Increase Four Year Graduation Ratehttp://kut.org/post/ut-austin-continues-increase-four-year-graduation-rate
<p>More of last year’s UT Austin freshmen returned to campus, earned better grades and passed more classes than any other class on record. And the university says it’s because of a focus on freshmen. UT is giving struggling students extra services and identifying at-risk students at orientation. It's part of UT Austin President Bill Powers' goal to get four-year graduation rates up to 70 percent within five years.</p>Tue, 23 Sep 2014 22:01:00 +0000Kate McGee11275 at http://kut.orgUT Austin Continues to Increase Four Year Graduation RateBill Powers: His Last Year as President, Unprecedented Fundraising and UT's Futurehttp://kut.org/post/bill-powers-his-last-year-president-unprecedented-fundraising-and-uts-future
<p>Bill Powers says he's entering his final year as president of the UT-Austin without bitterness, despite the <a href="http://kut.org/post/ut-president-bill-powers-will-stay-one-more-year">tumultuous lead up</a> to the announcement of his exit.</p><p>Instead, he says he relishes his return to faculty – Powers will return to teach at the UT Law School when he steps down next June – and believes the university is making the right moves at the right time amid transition.</p><p><iframe frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/168304532&amp;color=ff5500&amp;auto_play=false&amp;hide_related=false&amp;show_comments=true&amp;show_user=true&amp;show_reposts=false" width="100%"></iframe></p><p>Thu, 18 Sep 2014 18:44:59 +0000Joseph Baucum & David Brown11205 at http://kut.orgBill Powers: His Last Year as President, Unprecedented Fundraising and UT's FuturePHOTOS: UT Students Gather in Support of Ferguson Demonstrationshttp://kut.org/post/photos-ut-students-gather-support-ferguson-demonstrations
<p>Last night, <a href="http://www.latimes.com/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-ferguson-overnight-unrest-20140818-story.html">31 protestors were arrested </a>in Ferguson, Missouri in the latest batch of demonstrations – some have turned violent – in the weeks following the shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown, who was unarmed, by Ferguson Police officer Darren Wilson.</p><p>The event, and the controversy surrounding it, has inspired protests across the nation.</p>Tue, 19 Aug 2014 14:35:28 +0000Andrew Weber11042 at http://kut.orgPHOTOS: UT Students Gather in Support of Ferguson DemonstrationsUT Students Stay in Israel Despite Ongoing Violencehttp://kut.org/post/ut-students-stay-israel-despite-ongoing-violence
<p>As the conflict between&nbsp;<a href="http://kut.org/post/israel-launches-ground-offensive-gaza">Israel and Palestine in Gaza continues</a>, officials with the University of Texas International Office say they've been in close contact with graduate students and faculty conducting research in Israel.</p><p>“None of our students are anywhere near the Gaza Strip or the West Bank,” UT International Office risk analyst Erin Wolf says.</p><p>Wolf says six graduate students and a handful of faculty are doing research projects in Israel and that in addition to providing academic support, local universities are also giving them direction.<img alt="Description: --break-&gt;" border="0" height="3" src="file://localhost/Users/wd285/Library/Caches/TemporaryItems/msoclip/0/clip_image002.png" width="3" /></p><p>Thu, 24 Jul 2014 18:16:29 +0000Laura Rice & Audrey McGlinchy10857 at http://kut.orgUT Students Stay in Israel Despite Ongoing ViolenceUT Regent Investigation Focuses Less on Wallace Hall, More on Powers’ Resignationhttp://kut.org/post/ut-regent-investigation-focuses-less-wallace-hall-more-powers-resignation
<p>In what's become the never-ending story of state higher education news, t<span style="line-height: 1.5;">he <a href="http://www.house.state.tx.us/committees/committee/?committee=465&amp;session=83">Texas House Transparency Committee </a>continued to hash out details of the fractured relationship between the <a href="http://www.utsystem.edu/board-of-regents">UT System Board of Regents </a>and UT-Austin leadership Wednesday, as it investigates the actions of UT Regent <a href="http://www.utsystem.edu/board-of-regents/current-regents/wallace-l-hall-jr">Wallace Hall</a>. </span></p><p><span style="line-height: 1.5;">The committee is deciding if it should file impeachment proceedings against Hall, who some believe abused his powers as regent, but Wednesday's meeting also focused on last week's agreement for UT Austin President <a href="http://kut.org/post/ut-president-bill-powers-will-stay-one-more-year">Bill Powers to resign </a>at the end of the 2014-2015 school year.</span></p><p>Wed, 16 Jul 2014 22:44:03 +0000Kate McGee10799 at http://kut.orgUT Regent Investigation Focuses Less on Wallace Hall, More on Powers’ ResignationUT Affirmative Action Policies Stand in Fisher Rulinghttp://kut.org/post/ut-affirmative-action-policies-stand-fisher-ruling
<p>In a two to one opinion, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld UT-Austin's affirmative action policies – the subject of Supreme Court case Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin. You can <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/1219257-fifth-circuit-court-of-appeals-decision-in.html">read the decision here</a>.</p><p>In a 2008 case, white student Abigail Fisher was not admitted into the university. She sued, claiming UT had discriminated against her because of her race. The case made it all the way to the Supreme Court, but the high court remanded the case to the circuit court last year, finding that when the court originally heard the case it didn't apply proper scrutiny to UT's affirmative action policies ­– as it was supposed to under a 2003 affirmative action case.</p><p></p><p>Read more background on the case here<strong>: <a href="http://kut.org/post/so-what-exactly-happened-fisher-v-university-texas-update">So What Exactly Happened with Fisher v. University of Texas?</a></strong></p><p>Tue, 15 Jul 2014 20:35:06 +0000Kate McGee10791 at http://kut.orgUT Affirmative Action Policies Stand in Fisher RulingCigarroa Tells Powers to Resign or Be Firedhttp://kut.org/post/cigarroa-tells-powers-resign-or-be-fired
<p class="p1" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.35; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 15.199999809265137px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.35;">U</span><span style="font-size: 15.199999809265137px; line-height: 1.35; box-sizing: border-box;">niversity of Texas System Chancellor Francisco Cigarroa has asked University of Texas at Austin President Bill Powers to resign ahead of the Board of Regents’ July 10 meeting or be fired at it, multiple sources confirmed to The Texas Tribune on Friday.&Fri, 04 Jul 2014 19:35:27 +0000Reeve Hamilton, Texas Tribune10738 at http://kut.orgCigarroa Tells Powers to Resign or Be FiredUT Engineering School Receives $5M from ExxonMobil CEOhttp://kut.org/post/ut-engineering-school-receives-5m-exxonmobil-ceo
<p>Chairman and CEO of ExxonMobil, <a href="http://corporate.exxonmobil.com/en/company/about-us/management/rex-w-tillerson" target="_blank">Rex W. Tillerson</a> and his wife, Renda, are donating $5 million to the Cockrell School of Engineering. The money is slated to go toward the <a href="http://www.engr.utexas.edu/eerc" target="_blank">Engineering Education and Research Center</a> which is expected to open in 2017.</p><p>It's a 430,000 square-foot facility that will allow UT Austin to expand its teaching, research and student project space.</p><p>Tillerson&nbsp;graduated from UT Austin in 1975 with a bachelor's degree in&nbsp;civil engineering and serves on the school's Engineering Advisory Board and UT Development Board. &nbsp;His sons, Robert and Michael, are also graduates. Tue, 15 Apr 2014 10:35:18 +0000Kate McGee10214 at http://kut.orgUT Engineering School Receives $5M from ExxonMobil CEOThese Sound Engineers Used One Weird Trick to Bend the Laws of Physicshttp://kut.org/post/these-sound-engineers-used-one-weird-trick-bend-laws-physics
<p><strong>Update</strong>: <a href="http://hereandnow.wbur.org/2014/03/24/sound-engineering-kut">Listen to this story on WBUR's Here and Now</a>.</p><p><strong>Original story</strong> (Feb. 28): You know how on cop shows, suspects get interrogated in a cramped room with a mirror on one wall? And on the other side, there's a prosecutor or other cops watching through the glass.</p><p>Those mirrors are kind of an illusion done with lighting.&nbsp;But the effect also illustrates perfectly how difficult it can be to break a pretty fundamental law of nature.</p><p>A group of engineers at UT has figured out how to&nbsp;bend – if not break – that law when it comes to sound.</p><p><strong>Listen:</strong></p><p><iframe frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/137133239&amp;color=ff5500&amp;auto_play=false&amp;hide_related=false&amp;show_artwork=true" width="100%"></iframe></p><p>Mon, 24 Mar 2014 17:23:10 +0000Matt Largey9870 at http://kut.orgThese Sound Engineers Used One Weird Trick to Bend the Laws of PhysicsUT-Austin Approves Partnership to Build World's Largest Telescope http://kut.org/post/ut-austin-approves-partnership-build-worlds-largest-telescope
<p><strong>Update:&nbsp;</strong>UT-Austin has received the green light to participate in the construction of the Giant Magellan Telescope. When constructed, it will be the world's largest telescope.&nbsp;</p><p>The UT System Board of Regents authorized UT-Austin to put $50 million of its research reserves toward the project, and allowed the university to raise an additional $50 million in donations.&nbsp;</p><p class="p1">“Being a charter investor in this remarkable scientific tool will benefit our students, our faculty and the whole university,” UT-Austin President Bill Powers said in a statement Friday.“Not only will we be helping to answer the most basic questions about our universe, but our involvement will underscore our status as a top world university. This is the leading edge of science, and it is where Texas must be.”</p><p class="p1">Fri, 07 Mar 2014 18:15:02 +0000Kate McGee9906 at http://kut.orgUT-Austin Approves Partnership to Build World's Largest Telescope UT Austin to Sell Alcohol at Longhorn Athletic Games Starting Fridayhttp://kut.org/post/ut-austin-sell-alcohol-longhorn-athletic-games-starting-friday
<p><strong>Update: </strong>UT Austin says it will start selling beer and wine at Red &amp; Charline McCombs Field Friday&nbsp;when&nbsp;<span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal;">Texas Softball hosts the Texas Invitational.&nbsp;</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal;">“This trial will be in effect this spring for all remaining men’s and women’s basketball, softball and baseball games, and the fan fest area at the Texas Relays,” said UT Men’s Athletics Director Steve Patterson in a statement released Thursday. “We could look into expanding it for other sports events next fall provided the outcome of the trial is positive.”</span></p><p>At the end of the 2014 spring sports season, UT officials, along with&nbsp;<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal;">UT Police, Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission and UT Athletics concessionaire Sodexho Sports and Leisure,</span><span style="line-height: 1.5;">&nbsp;say they will evaluate the effectiveness and safety of the trial to see if alcohol will be served at other sporting events.&nbsp;</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal;">The beer and wine trial will not include the spring football game on April 19 at DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium.</span></p><p>Fri, 28 Feb 2014 04:53:58 +0000Kate McGee9856 at http://kut.orgUT Austin to Sell Alcohol at Longhorn Athletic Games Starting FridayProdigies or Not: Menuhin Competition Inspires Young Austin Musicianshttp://kut.org/post/prodigies-or-not-menuhin-competition-inspires-young-austin-musicians
<p>The best young violin players in the world are in Austin right now for the <a href="http://menuhin.music.utexas.edu/" target="_blank">Menuhin Competition</a>. It’s the first time the prestigious contest featuring players under 22 years old has been held in North America.</p><p>UT’s Butler School of Music is hosting the 10-day competition. And it’s a rare opportunity for aspiring young string players in the area to see what’s possible with a lot of hard work.</p><p>“It’s considered the Olympics of the violin. It’s also called the F1 of the violin," Butler School of Music Interim Director Glenn Richter says. “We’re getting an international and a national exposure and flair that is very special for Austin.”</p><p><iframe frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/136760580&amp;color=ff5500&amp;auto_play=false&amp;hide_related=false&amp;show_artwork=true" width="100%"></iframe></p><p>Thu, 27 Feb 2014 01:05:00 +0000Laura Rice9847 at http://kut.orgProdigies or Not: Menuhin Competition Inspires Young Austin MusiciansInterview: The UT Art History Professor Who Got An Apology From Pres. Obamahttp://kut.org/post/interview-ut-art-history-professor-who-got-apology-pres-obama
<p>President Barack Obama wrote a&nbsp;hand-written apology&nbsp;to a University of Texas art history professor this week.</p><p><a href="http://www.utexas.edu/finearts/aah/about/people/ann-johns">Ann Johns</a>, a senior lecturer at UT-Austin's Department of Art and Art History, complained via the White House website about the president's remarks in a speech at a Wisconsin factory last month. <a href="http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2014/02/19/art-history-professor-receives-handwritten-apology-from-obama/">As CNN notes</a>, stumping for education initiatives, President Obama said "You folks can make a lot more, potentially, with skilled manufacturing or the trades than they might with an art history degree."</p><p><iframe frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/135832678&amp;color=ff5500&amp;auto_play=false&amp;hide_related=false&amp;show_artwork=true" width="100%"></iframe>Thu, 20 Feb 2014 16:44:19 +0000Nathan Bernier9814 at http://kut.orgInterview: The UT Art History Professor Who Got An Apology From Pres. ObamaUT Austin Receives $60 Million Gift for Engineering, Business Schoolshttp://kut.org/post/ut-austin-receives-60-million-gift-engineering-business-schools
<p>The University of Texas at Austin has received a $60 million gift from John and Miriam Mulva, one of the largest gifts in the school’s history. The donation will go toward two major building projects, including the school’s proposed Engineering Education and Research Center.</p><p>According to UT Austin President Bill Powers, $20 million will go toward the new Engineering Education and Research Center, while the other $40 million will go toward renovations of two buildings in the&nbsp;McCombs School of Business, pending project approval by the Board of Regents. The entire sum of money will be paid at a rate of three million over the next 20 years.&nbsp;</p><p>UT President Powers says the gift is especially important for the Engineering Center, since it <span style="font-size: 12.000000pt; font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'">will help the university raise $105 million from private donors to pay for construction of the $310 million Engineering Center.</span></p><p>Fri, 24 Jan 2014 06:01:00 +0000Kate McGee9634 at http://kut.orgUT Austin Receives $60 Million Gift for Engineering, Business SchoolsThe Legacy of John Saunders Chasehttp://kut.org/post/legacy-john-saunders-chase
<p>On this edition of In Black America, producer/host John L. Hanson Jr. speaks with the late John Saunders Chase, the first African American graduate of <a href="http://www.cah.utexas.edu/projects/ut_oral_history_chase1.php">The University of Texas at Austin</a> and the first African American President of <a href="http://texasexes.org/">The Texas Exes</a>.</p>Mon, 20 Jan 2014 00:01:43 +0000John L. Hanson Jr. 9586 at http://kut.orgThe Legacy of John Saunders ChaseUT Regents Put President Powers' Job On the Agenda: How We Got Herehttp://kut.org/post/ut-regents-put-president-powers-job-agenda-how-we-got-here
<p>The UT Board of Regents is expected to discuss the employment of University of Texas at Austin President Bill Powers <a href="http://kut.org/post/ut-regents-discuss-employment-bill-powers">during its executive session today</a>. It’s the first time his employment has been placed on the agenda for discussion – and the latest development in what’s become a power struggle among state leadership.</p><p>The scene: boardrooms, committee chambers or behind closed doors. The characters: men who hold power in the Texas capitol, or the UT Tower. But how did the situation get to this point?</p><p><iframe frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/124486666&amp;color=ff6600&amp;auto_play=false&amp;show_artwork=true" width="100%"></iframe></p><p>Thu, 12 Dec 2013 14:19:15 +0000Kate McGee & David Brown9352 at http://kut.orgUT Regents Put President Powers' Job On the Agenda: How We Got Here